The relationship of added nitrate to pigment formation in native pork-sausage (longaniza)

The nitrosomyoglobin, residual nitrate and nitrite concentrations of the native pork-sausage (longaniza) were analysed within a ten-day storage period. Several levels of nitrate (50, 100, 300, 500 and 2000, 3500 and 5000 ppm) were employed. These were examined to determine the minimum amount of nitrate that could be added to the curing mixture for the making of longaniza whilst still obtaining acceptable organoleptic properties, especially colour.Pigment formation in longaniza due to the added nitrate occurs from the onset and reaches its maximum on the third or fourth day. The desirable pink to red colour in the cured meat was obtained even with amounts of nitrate as low as 50 ppm. All treated longaniza showed high and similar colour scores compared with the control. However, higher colour stability was obtained with the use of greater than 500 ppm nitrate. The amount of residual nitrate and nitrite is directly proportional to the initial quantity of nitrate added. The use of 50 to 500 ppm nitrate poses no danger to public health while the use of 2000 to 5000 ppm nitrate enhances the possibility of carcinogenic nitrosamine formation and incidence of methemoglobinemia.